Wellingore Garage, Wellingore, Lincolnshire

Summary

Purpose-built garage and petrol station, built in 1933 to designs by F. Glanville Goodin, and extended in the 1980s.

Description

MATERIALS: Local limestone rubble laid to courses and roughly ashlared for the dressings. Pantile-clad roof.

PLAN: Rectangular, with short end to the road incorporating a drive-through loggia. The footprint of the original building has been doubled by the single-storey extension built to the south-west in the 1980s, which is sympathetic in materials but not of special interest. The covered drive-way at the front now forms a south-east projection.

EXTERIOR: The double-height building is in the form of a barn with a half-hipped roof. The front (south-east) covered drive-way, where the petrol pumps were originally located, is in the form of a triple-arched loggia with battered outer piers. The larger central arch is flanked by two smaller ones, giving the impression of a triumphal arch. The semi-circular brick arches are of roughly dressed stone and the cyma recta kneelers of ashlar. In front are late-C20 petrol pumps which are not of special interest. Behind the loggia is a wide opening consisting of four planked doors with glazed upper sections, probably all original. To the right is an original multi-paned, metal-framed window with a concrete sill, whilst the one to the left has been opened to form a doorway. These apertures have segmental arch heads, as do all the original apertures.

Set back on the left of the loggia is the single-storey extension built in the same local rubble stone, under a pantile-clad, hipped roof. The end wall is battered to echo the form of the loggia. It is lit by three windows under the eaves, divided by glazing bars into three horizontal bands, followed by a door with a glazed upper panel. The left return, which has two similar windows, is followed by a blind wall under a flat roof which houses the office. The end section of this extension has a slightly higher roof, also flat, and contains a wide opening leading into the rear workshop. The original triangular gable of the central bay is still visible behind the extension. The extension, which dates from the 1980s, is not of special interest.

The rear elevation has a blocked central opening, of which the wide segmental arch head remains, with a smaller door inserted to the right. This is flanked by two windows which have been replaced, whilst the horizontal, metal-framed window under the eaves is original. To the right is the rear wall of the extension which is lit by a horizontal window under a flat brick arch. The cyma recta kneeler has been removed on the right end to make way for the extension. The north-east elevation has a central triangular gabled bay with a wide opening giving access to the workshop. Originally this was flanked by a group of three multi-paned, metal-framed windows with concrete sills, but those on the left were lost when the wide opening was inserted to provide vehicular access.

INTERIOR: The steel king-post roof is said to have been intact in the 1980s but it is now obscured by a lower inserted ceiling. The wide, central opening on the north-east elevation has a roller shutter door and opening mechanism which is probably original. The original office and lavatories have been removed to create a single-space workshop, but the former position of the apertures on what was previously the outside wall of the south-west elevation is still legible, as is the position of the former three windows on the right hand side.

History

Cliff Road, Wellingore, which links Wellingore to Navenby, originally provided access to stone quarries on the outskirts of Navenby, stopping before it reached the village of Wellingore. In the 1930s, the road was extended into Wellingore, forming a more direct route from Grantham to Lincoln, and a purpose-built garage and petrol station was constructed at the point the new road started. The garage was designed for Mr F. Coldron by F. Glanville Goodin A.R.I.B.A, none of whose other buildings are listed. Public opinion of the 1920s had reacted against the spoliation of the countryside by the adhoc designs of early filling stations and their signage, leading to improved designs in a vernacular or locally sympathetic style. The garage at Wellingore was designed to fit in with the local landscape, being constructed of local stone in the form of a barn with a half-hipped roof and stylised midstreys to each long side.

The opening of the garage was reported in The Builder (December 22 1933) which included a plan, sections and photographs of the building. It describes the garage as having a covered drive-way in front, 11 ft wide, which enabled cars to be refuelled without inconvenience in bad weather. The back of the building was divided into two sections: the front was used mainly as a showroom for agricultural machinery, and the rear as a garage proper. The building incorporated a small office in the centre with glazed windows inside, commanding a view of both rear and front garage, and lavatory accommodation for both sexes. The article specifies that the floor was of solid concrete, except for the office and lavatories where tiles were used, and the metal casements were provided by Williams and Williams of Chester. The timber roof trusses in the drawing were substituted for steel ones, and the roof clad in pantiles. The photographs and plan show that there were two wide access doors to the workshop positioned in the rear north-west elevation and under the central gabled bay in the long north-east side. The long south-west side had a matching gabled bay, slightly projecting, which gave access to the office and lavatories.

The garage has been both altered and extended. In the 1950s/’60s the large opening on the rear wall was blocked and a standard door put in. Around the same time a wide opening was made on the north-east side, to the left of the central gabled bay, which had previously been lit by three windows. In the 1980s a single-storey extension was built along the length of the south-west side, providing extra space for the workshop at the rear and a shop at the front. Since then, the window on the left of the front south-east elevation has been opened up to form a door; and on the rear north-west elevation, the windows flanking the original wide opening have been replaced. The petrol pumps were replaced in the late C20. The ‘Garage’ weathervane which adorns the roof survives, although it had been removed for repair during the recent site visit. The garage still performs its original function, and in October 2011 a Post Office opened in the front part of the south-west extension.

Reasons for Listing

Wellingore Garage is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: It is a particularly good example of a petrol station and garage designed in a consciously traditional character using local building materials. Built in the guise of a half-hipped barn, it is evocative of the rural vernacular tradition, thereby calming the public disquiet caused by previous incongruous designs.
* Architectural interest: It has a subtle sophistication of design, effortlessly combining the forms of a triumphal arch and a half-hipped barn to create a garage that simultaneously heralds the progressive new age of the motor car whilst alleviating the public anxiety over its consequences.
* Rarity: It is a rare survival of this early building type which has largely retained its original form, despite having been altered and extended.

External Links

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